Ismael Saibari will miss the match against France in Boston due to a hamstring injury sustained last week.
Morocco’s plans for their World Cup quarterfinal against France have been shaken up after it was confirmed that star forward Ismael Saibari will miss the match.
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Saibari sustained a hamstring injury in the last-16 match against Canada and has not recovered in time for the crucial knockout match, coach Mohamed Ouahbi said on Wednesday.
“Everyone is 100 percent fit except Saibari. This game comes too soon for him, but I hope he is not out for the rest of the competition,” Ouahbi told reporters ahead of Thursday’s last-eight showdown in Boston.
Saibari, who has just joined Bayern Munich from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on a five-year deal for a reported fee of 50 million euros ($57m), has been one of the standout players at this year’s World Cup.
He scored in each of his team’s three group games and converted the winning penalty in the shootout as Morocco beat the Netherlands in the last 32.
However, the attacking midfielder came off early with a hamstring problem in the 3-0 win against Canada in the last 16 last Saturday.
Should Morocco progress, Saibari might make a comeback in the semifinals.
“He’s not ready, but I hope it’s not the end of the tournament for him,” Ouahbi said.
Saibari went off the pitch to receive medical attention after sustaining an injury against Canada [Issei Kato/Reuters]
Soufiane Rahimi, who is an out-and-out striker, came on for Saibari in that game and scored Morocco’s third goal.
The Atlas Lions are seeking to avenge their 2-0 defeat against France in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup.
That was the first time any African or Arab team had reached the last four of the tournament, and their incentive this time is to match that run.
Ouahbi dismissed suggestions that his team can say they have already had a successful tournament by getting to the quarterfinals.
“We absolutely want to win the game tomorrow, so we will not listen to people who say it doesn’t matter if we go out now,” said the coach, who took over from Walid Regragui in March.
“Tomorrow, we will try to get to the semifinals. I don’t like this sentiment that we have already done well and anything else is a bonus,” added Ouahbi, who said he had watched the 2022 meeting of the sides as a fan, on television.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz insisted his side can compete with the much-fancied France as he prepares to come up against Kylian Mbappe, his colleague at club level.
“Tomorrow, we are playing one of the favourites, but we have shown we can compete, and that is why we are here. I have full faith and full confidence in the team.” %!s()
Beaver dam and pond in the Snohomish Estuary's Quilceda marsh (48.05° N, 122.19° W). Note shrubs and spruce trees in background, tidal sedge (Carex lyngbyei) in the foreground. A log has drifted in on a higher high tide and has come to rest on the side of the beaver dam. The pond is waist to chest deep with an accumulation of soft, unconsolidated sediments. During higher high tides water reaches the marsh surface. Photo by the author (Figure S1). Credit: W. Gregory Hood., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Beavers are widespread in estuaries and tidal wetlands in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, demonstrating that they are not restricted to rivers and streams, Gregory Hood at the Skagit River System Cooperative, U.S., reports July 8, 2026, in the journal PLOS One.
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Beavers are famous for their construction skills, building domed lodges and damming rivers with logs. The ponds their dams create can provide important habitat for plants, birds and fish, and their ability to alter ecosystems has given them the title of "ecosystem engineers." Beavers can also be found in estuaries, where the twice-daily ebb of the tides causes water fluctuations and brings in saltwater from the ocean. However, little is known about beaver ecology and behavior in these tidal habitats.
Researchers surveyed North American beaver (Castor canadensis) lodges and dams in tidal wetlands in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon to understand how beavers use river deltas and estuaries. They found that beavers were widespread in these tidal habitats, with an average of 19 dams and 2 lodges per kilometer in surveyed channels of the Snohomish and Skagit rivers. This is more than twice the density of beaver dams previously reported for nontidal river channels.
Detailed measurements of beaver structures revealed that dams in tidal habitats tend to be shorter than those in rivers, meaning that they would usually be flooded at high tide. This suggests that their main function is to trap water at low tides, allowing beavers to move freely through the river system. They may also help block saltwater brought in by the tide. The researchers inspected historic aerial photos on Google Earth dating to 1990 and found that an estuarine beaver dam can remain in place for at least 35 years, spanning multiple generations of beaver.
One of the tallest beaver dams that the author encountered; on the east side of Otter Island in the Snohomish Estuary (48.01° N, 122.14° W). Molly Alves (~170 cm), Tulalip Tribes biologist for scale. During higher high tides water is at least 1 m above the dam top. Photo by the author (Figure S3). Credit: W. Gregory Hood., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
The study expands the known habitat distribution of beavers and demonstrates that these charismatic creatures can thrive in river estuaries. The density of dams also suggests that they may have a significant ecological impact in these habitats. By creating deep pools of water at low tide, their dams may provide important habitat for threatened species such as Chinook and coho salmon. But more research is needed to understand how conservationists can work with beavers to restore river estuaries in the Pacific Northwest, the authors say.
The author adds, "The conventional view of beaver is that they live exclusively in rivers and lakes. My work shows that beaver are much more adaptable than this. They are also broadly distributed and resident in tidal marshes and swamps of the Pacific Northwest, from at least British Columbia to southern Oregon. So, it would not be surprising if beaver were found in tidal habitats in other regions of North America or Eurasia.
"Now that we know that beaver can be commonly found in tidal wetlands, we also know that there are new questions to ask about beaver ecology in these systems. We have a lot to learn about tidal beaver ecology and how it compares to more conventional river and lake beaver.
"Knowing that beaver are commonly found in tidal marshes and swamps leads to the realization that we need to account for the ecosystem effects of beaver in these systems. Beaver are ecosystem engineers in rivers and lakes, i.e., their dam-building activities have broad effects on other flora and fauna in those ecosystems. So, they are likely to also be ecosystem engineers in tidal ecosystems. Without accounting for beaver in tidal ecosystems, our understanding and management of these systems is likely to be incomplete and flawed."
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Beavers thrive in river estuaries along North America's northwest coast (2026, July 8)
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The researchers looked at two factors—taper and roundness—that contributed to puncture efficiency. Flatter (less round) tools tend to have higher puncture efficiency but are more susceptible to buckling or bending. Credit: Public domain photos by Dave Pape. Graphic by Diana Yates
Nature has invented countless types of pointy appendages, and scientists have long sought to explain what makes these structures so effective at puncturing other things. A new study models the key physical characteristics of puncturing tools to reflect their diversity in nature, finding that the shape of a biological tool is driven in part by trade-offs between its puncture efficiency and its ability to resist bending or buckling. The findings are described in the journal Science Advances.
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"There's a vast diversity of puncture tools in nature, like fangs and stingers and spines and thorns," said Philip Anderson, a professor of evolution, ecology and behavior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who led the new research. "It's ubiquitous across the entire tree of life, including plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and viruses."
Anderson has spent more than two decades studying how the laws of physics and biomechanics influence evolutionary processes, focusing primarily on the predatory or defensive structures that plants and animals use to damage, impale, grasp, impede or inject defensive compounds into other organisms.
For the new study, he and his colleagues looked at tools across the plant and animal kingdoms to try to identify common physical attributes.
"Scientists are interested in finding underlying physical laws that all this diversity has to adhere to," Anderson said. Studies often focus on a single species at a time, examining things like the shape of its tool, the speed at which it is deployed and the efficiency with which it punctures a given material. The findings are sometimes reported as if they reflect universal physical laws.
Philip Anderson and his colleagues tested models reflecting the diversity of fangs, spines, tusks and other biological puncture tools. Their study answers fundamental questions about how the shape of such tools influences how they work. Credit: Craig Pessman
Diversity resists a single rule
"But when it comes to biology, I think we need to embrace the diversity of it," Anderson said. "If there was a universal law, then I would expect all puncture tools to look more similar to each other, but they don't. There's great variety in how these puncture tools work."
To better understand the principles driving such diversity, Anderson and his colleagues digitally modeled the primary characteristics of puncture tools in nature.
"We took two very basic measurements, one of which is its taper," he said. "If you look at a puncture tool from the side, is it a big broad triangle, like a shark's tooth? Or is it a thin, elongated triangle, like a fang? And then we also looked at its cross section. Is it more round, like an elephant's tusk? Or is it flattened, like a stingray barb?"
Years of studies of the puncture performance of differently shaped tools have shown that while pointed objects that are rounder in cross section may do a good job of initiating a fracture, flatter tools are likely to penetrate a material more deeply because they do not have to displace as much of the target material, Anderson said.
A new study compared the physical characteristics of various plant and animal puncture tools, finding tradeoffs between a tool's puncture efficiency and its ability to resist buckling. Of 143 species studied, those with the highest performance balancing these competing demands included, in yellow, a rose prickle, top right, a scorpion's stinger, center, and a shark's tooth, lower left. Other puncture tools included in the study were, counterclockwise from top left, cactus spines, ant mandibles, dog teeth, walrus tusks, sea urchin spines and a Tyrannosaurus tooth. Credit: Public domain photos by, from top, left to right: BLMArizona, Insects Unlocked/UT Austin, AnRo0002; middle, left to right: Gary Todd, Jbjensen1, Josh Plueger/USAF; bottom, left to right: Michelle Passeroti/NOAA, Stefanie Leuker, Joel Garlich-Miller/USFWS
Shape balances entry and strength
"The flatter it is, the easier time it should have inserting itself, because it has to push the material apart less," he said. "You're making a very thin wound versus a wide, circular one."
But flatness comes with other concerns, he said. Flatter materials may be more susceptible to bending or buckling, which could be detrimental to the organism. So the researchers also calculated each tool's ability to resist buckling.
In simulations, the team compared the puncture performance of 25 cone shapes that varied in both taper and cross-sectional shape—equivalent to the variation seen across the more than 140 biological puncture tools they measured. For each of the 25 cone models, they calculated "how much energy it takes for a tool to create a fracture and insert itself" to a specific depth, Anderson said.
The long list of species that guided the dimensions of the cones reflects the diversity of tools found in vertebrates, invertebrates and plants.
The analysis revealed that some cones performed better than others across both puncture efficiency and buckling resistance.
"We could see a combined performance, where maybe you've got a tool that's decently resistant to buckling and also does a good job of puncturing. But if you tried to make it better at resisting buckling, you would lose puncture performance, and vice versa," Anderson said. "So, you're almost looking for a middle ground where both of these types of performance are being as optimized as they can be."
Different tools, different compromises
The cones with the highest performance on both measures include those whose taper and roundness were most like a scorpion's stinger, a king cobra's fangs, a rose prickle, a shark tooth, the talons of a red-tailed hawk, the mandibles of an army ant and the love dart of at least one land snail, Anderson said.
Just as interesting, he said, was a look at cone types that punctured efficiently but were more susceptible to buckling. This includes cones shaped more like cactus spines, which are more disposable, say, than something like a carnivore's canines, "so it doesn't matter if they break."
Tools like a carnivore's canines appear to be more optimized to resist buckling but puncture less efficiently. This may reflect their function, Anderson said. Perhaps for some species it is more important to be able to grasp their prey with their teeth than to pierce the flesh of their targets and risk breaking their teeth.
"A mammal doesn't want to break its tooth because it only gets two: the baby tooth and the adult tooth," he said. "So, evolutionarily, it's more important. You get better survivorship if you prevent that tool from breaking."
Similarly, fish spines may do more to protect the animals from being eaten than to pierce the flesh of potential prey.
"It may not be that the fish need to be puncturing other animals," Anderson said. "Maybe they're just making themselves too big to swallow."
Design lessons beyond mimicry
Anderson said the findings should be useful to the field of bioinspiration, where new tools are designed to reproduce the form and functionality of something found in nature.
"Rather than looking at just one organism at a time and saying, 'We're going to mimic that,' I think we're finding that it would be more useful to look at overall trends, to see what a range of biological puncture tools are doing, and draw inspiration from that," he said.
Publication details
Philip Anderson, Trade-offs in mechanical performance influence the diversity of fangs, stingers and spines, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aec5395
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Nature's puncture tools reveal shape trade-offs between piercing power and strength (2026, July 8)
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This small polymer-coated membrane (right image) collects compounds released into the air during cupping therapy in a test on pig skin (left image). Credit: Adapted from Analytical Chemistry 2026, DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6c02559
Cupping therapy is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) technique used to treat chronic pain, expedite muscle recovery and other conditions. It increases blood flow by creating suction on the skin. But what is released from the skin during treatment? Researchers reporting in ACS' Analytical Chemistry developed a noninvasive approach to analyze compounds pulled into the cup. In a pilot study with healthy volunteers, they detected changes in 13 volatile compounds before and after treatment.
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"I have a longstanding interest in analyzing volatiles related to human metabolites, for example, in the breath," says Renato Zenobi, a corresponding author of the study. "It is always best to capture these volatiles directly at the source—for example, have a patient blow into an analytical instrument or, as in the present study, collect directly in the cupping jars."
A direct look at skin emissions
Despite its widespread use, scientists have rarely studied cupping's effects on a person's physiology. Previous studies have examined metabolites in blood or urine rather than what is released directly from the skin's surface. To address this gap, Zenobi, Xiaowen Yan and colleagues developed a noninvasive method to capture and analyze skin-derived molecules inside cupping jars.
The researchers identified a two-polymer-coated membrane that adsorbs and concentrates airborne molecules. Captured compounds were released by heating the membrane, then identified and quantified by mass spectrometry. The team first demonstrated the approach using a vacuum-suctioned cup on pig skin treated with five compounds found on human skin. All five were captured by the membrane and detected in the sample.
Early signals from volunteers
Then the researchers conducted a proof-of-concept study with 12 healthy volunteers. They placed cups with the coated membranes on participants' backs and waists for 10 minutes, consistent with typical treatment duration. The team compared the air inside cups either with or without vacuum suction, representing conditions during and before cupping, respectively, and observed substantial differences in 13 metabolites and compounds commonly found on the skin's surface. These compounds included aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, terpenes and organic acids, some of which increased in concentration after cupping while others decreased.
Zenobi says these results show that "the metabolic effects of TCM therapies can be studied with modern analytical techniques, which is something that has largely been lacking." However, he cautions that the data are preliminary. "Firm conclusions that are statistically significant should only be drawn when many more patients and controls have been analyzed."
Clinical testing is planned
Next, the researchers plan clinical studies with a local hospital focusing on TCM, comparing people with conditions such as chronic pain with those without them to better understand the impact of cupping therapy on the body.
Publication details
Shuxian Liu et al, Noninvasive Analysis of Skin Emanations during Cupping Therapy by Thin-Film Solid-Phase Microextraction and Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Analytical Chemistry (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6c02559
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An interdisciplinary team from Florida State University's Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science has uncovered new evidence about processes that may have contributed to ancient mass-extinction events, some of the most dramatic ecosystem reorganizations in Earth's history.
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Assistant professor of meteorology Michael Diamond, assistant professor of geology Emily Stewart and geology doctoral student Lindsi Allman combined deep-earth geochemistry and atmospheric science to show that natural sulfur and carbon released from metamorphic rocks affect the environment in ways similar to emissions from volcanic eruptions, long considered the primary drivers of mass-extinction events.
The study, "Metamorphic sulfur release as a driver of sustained cooling and mass extinction," was published in Science Advances.
"Evidence shows that the process that wipes out species is a climate swing, or an oscillation back and forth between hot and cold climates," said Stewart, who researches the effects of metamorphic fluids on Earth's cycles and long-term habitability.
"Some extinctions are correlated with the timing of eruptions in large igneous provinces, which are massive magmatic areas that have seen lots of volcanic eruptions and lava spewing out of Earth's surface. As long as geology as a field has existed, scientists have believed that volcanic eruptions and their emissions were the primary trigger for rapid global cooling and climate swings. We found another process that contributes to these events: metamorphism."
From left, assistant professor of geology Emily Stewart, geology doctoral student Lindsi Allman, and assistant professor of meteorology Michael Diamond. Credit: Devin Bittner/FSU College of Arts and Sciences
How buried rocks release gases
Metamorphic processes occur when rock under Earth's surface is exposed to extreme heat, like when rock in large igneous provinces, such as the Ferrar large igneous province in Antarctica or the Siberian Traps in Russia, is heated by magma. If that rock contains sulfur and carbon, the heating process results in sulfur and carbon emissions, allowing them to seep out at ground level as gases.
Sulfur emissions become sulfate particles in the atmosphere that act like tiny mirrors, reflecting some of the sun's energy back into space. Earth then absorbs less energy from the sun, leading to cooling spikes. Sulfates also act as "cloud seeds," attracting water vapor to form clouds with liquid droplets that disperse water more efficiently and reflect more sunlight, also contributing to cooling spikes.
"Cooling spikes are the result of sulfur, which doesn't stay in the atmosphere for more than a few days before dissipating," said Diamond, who investigates how Earth's climate is affected by cloud interactions with aerosols.
"The opposite warming effect is due to carbon, which is also released in the metamorphic process but doesn't react with other particles. Carbon remains in the atmosphere for hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. Even after sulfate-driven cooling spikes, the atmosphere is several degrees warmer than before due to carbon gas continually warming while sulfur aerosols cool and eventually disappear from the system."
Extinctions tied to climate swings
Ancient extinctions that may have been influenced by these emissions include the end of the Ordovician Period around 440 million years ago, when up to 85% of shallow marine species died, including many trilobites and corals. Another occurred at the end of the Devonian Period around 370 million years ago, when many marine species, especially reef-building corals and bony armored fish like Dunkleosteus, died out.
The end of the Permian Period, or the "Great Dying," occurred around 252 million years ago and wiped out up to 96% of marine species and 70% of land species. Around 201 million years ago, the end of the Triassic Period eliminated many groups of giant reptiles that dominated land, sea and sky, making way for the rise of dinosaurs.
A broader view of Earth systems
Although these events occurred millions of years ago, they provide natural experiments for investigating interactions and cycles among the solid Earth, atmosphere, oceans and biosphere. Understanding their causes helps scientists better understand the sensitivity of Earth systems to large-scale environmental change.
"Earth's systems are deeply interconnected, and major environmental changes rarely result from a single isolated process," said EOAS department chair Mike Stukel.
"Scientific progress often comes from integrating geological observations, geochemical evidence, climate perspectives and biological implications into a unified framework. This research demonstrates the value of bringing together expertise from multiple fields to better understand Earth's past and its future, and it highlights why our department is such a special place."
"The more we study mass-extinction events, the more we see that they're much more complex than we realized," Stewart said. "In geology, we thought the question of what could drive ancient mass-extinction events was solved. The only way we broke this misunderstanding was by bringing in perspectives from another field, which pointed us to evidence that hadn't been considered before."
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Scientists find gas emissions from rocks may have contributed to ancient climate swings, mass extinctions (2026, July 8)
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